Thursday, January 08, 2009

In the National Gallery of Art in DC there is large collection of icons. This photo was taken at the museum in 1942. When I visited last year I remarked how odd it to see such beautiful icons hanging on a plain white wall in a museum. I wasn't quite sure how to respond. It felt weird to just regard them as art, because they aren't. I felt like I should have been praying. So I did. I silently prayed to myself in front of every single icon that hung. That is what this photo reminds me of. I still feel strongly that icons do not belong in a museum.